Fomalhaut debris ring. (Credit: NASA, ESA, P. Kalas, J. Graham (University of California, Berkley), M. Clampin (NASA/GSFC))
Posted on 06/23/2007 9:38:25 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Quillen used new images from the Hubble Space Telescope that caught the star, Fomalhaut, and its surrounding ring almost edge-on and in more detail than ever before. Fomalhaut, 25 light-years away, is the brightest star in the autumn sky. Using a device called a coronagraph that blocks out a star's light so dimmer objects near it can be seen, the Hubble revealed that Fomalhaut was indeed off-center within its ring. The images were also clear enough to show that the ring itself had a surprisingly sharp edge... The sharp inside edge of Fomalhaut, Quillen calculated, demanded that a relatively small, Neptune-size planet was tucked right up against the inner side of the ring, using its gravity to toss dust in the area out of orbit. According to Quillen's calculations, the ring is elliptical because the Neptunian planet's own orbit around Fomalhaut is elliptical -- a curiosity in such a young system. When stars form from a giant cloud of gas and dust, the angular momentum of the cloud carries over to all the objects that form from the cloud, including new planets. Those new planets should, initially at least, orbit in nice, circular paths -- not elliptical ones. Fomalhaut's ring is offset by 1.4 billion miles, more than 15 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun, suggesting the hidden planet's orbit is also tremendously skewed.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Fomalhaut debris ring. (Credit: NASA, ESA, P. Kalas, J. Graham (University of California, Berkley), M. Clampin (NASA/GSFC))
 |
||
| · join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · | ||
 |
||
| · join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · | ||
Off to the bathroom this instant, and wash your mouth out with soap...there'll be no talk about Worlds In Collision around here!
;’) I’m sure I didn’t quote that sentence twice for that reason...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
